Helping vegans in the Sacramento area find restaurants with great menu choices for themselves and their non-vegan friends and family.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Sawasdee Thai Cuisine

I've been watching the corner of 19th and J streets with interest for a few months to see what would occupy that space, which hasn't worked out well for the last couple of restaurants. Most recently, a Mongolian barbecue was there, and before that, a Chinese restaurant. This time, it's a Thai restaurant called Sawasdee, which means "hello" in Thai. If the food I tried there was any indication, maybe this restaurant will be more successful than its predecessors.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the words "Vegan friendly" on the front of the menu. There are numerous vegan options on the menu, since many of the dishes offer a choice of tofu or vegetables, in addition to all the animal protein options. I asked, as I always do in a Thai restaurant, whether their curries contain fish sauce. I was told that they do not. I didn't order curry, though. Instead, I decided to try the Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle) with tofu. In addition to the tofu, this dish consists of pan-fried flat rice noodles, green beans, snow peas, bell peppers, tomatoes, basil, and pineapple. It was a very tasty and satisfying lunch.

I asked if any of the desserts were vegan and was told that the Mango Sticky Rice (made with coconut milk) was vegan, so I had to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! It was delicious.